2013 Ford C-Max reliability

Is it reliable?

The 2013 Ford C-Max has 187 complaints with NHTSA after 14 years, or 7 per year. That is the most complaints per year among the 6 C-Max years on this site. NHTSA has 8 recalls on file, including Gear position indicator, Latch, and Electrical.

2015 Ford C-Max Hybrid SEL — Photo by Elise240SX, resized from the original. Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0

Complaints

187

Per year

Recalls

Years on the road

What owners report

The complaints owners file most often name Electrical system (50 of 187), then Steering (39) and Powertrain (37). Complaints that include an odometer have a median of 68,000 miles, and the middle half falls between 39,000 and 97,000 miles. Those filings include 4 that report a crash, 5 that report a fire, and 1 that reports an injury.

Next to 2014

The 2014 C-Max has 80 complaints, 4 per year. The 2013 has more complaints per year than the 2014.

The complaint rate is complaints filed in this year’s first 3 years on the road, divided by however many of those years have passed. Recalls are a separate count. The numbers are for the US-market 2013 Ford C-Max. How we count. Data as of 2026-10-16.

Recalls (8)

Recall powertrain, automatic transmission, gear position indicator 2022-06-10 · NHTSA campaign 22V413000

Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2013-2019 Escape, 2013-2018 C-Max, 2013-2016 Fusion, 2013-2021 Transit Connect, and 2015-2018 Edge vehicles. The bushing that attaches the shifter cable to the transmission may degrade or detach.

Remedy Dealers will replace the under hood shift bushing and add a protective cap over the shift cable bushing, free of charge. Interim owner notification letters, informing owners of the safety risk, were mailed July 1, 2022. Remedy parts are expected to be available in 4th Quarter 2022. Owner notification letters were mailed October 27, 2022. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 22S43.

Vehicles affected 2,925,968

Recall latches, locks, and linkages, doors, latch 2020-06-08 · NHTSA campaign 20V331000

Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2011-2014 Fiesta, 2013-2014 Fusion, 2015 Mustang, 2013-2015 Escape and C-Max, 2012-2015 Focus, 2014-2016 Transit Connect, 2013-2014 Lincoln MKZ, and 2015 MKC vehicles. These vehicles were previously recalled and repaired under recalls 15V-246, 16V-643 or 17V-210, however the repair may not have been completed properly. A component within the door latches may break making the doors difficult to latch and/or leading the driver or a passenger to believe a door is securely closed when, in fact, it is not.

Remedy Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the latch date codes to confirm if the repair was done correctly, and replace the side door latches if necessary, free of charge. Owners will also have the option to inspect their own vehicle's door latches and enter the date codes into a website to determine if the latches are correct. Owner notification letters were mailed on July 27, 2020. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 20S30.

Vehicles affected 2,147,323

Recall equipment, electrical 2018-09-10 · NHTSA campaign 18V592000

Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 120V Convenience charge cords that were supplied with and sold for use with 2013-2015 Ford C-Max Energi and Fusion Energi vehicles and 2012-2015 Ford Focus Electric vehicles. Cords with part numbers FM58-10B706-AA, FM58-10B706-AB, FM58-10B706-AC, FM58-10B706-AD, FM58-10B706-AE and FM58-10B706-AF were manufactured without thermistors, and during vehicle charging, increased resistance in the house's outlet or wiring can cause the cord to overheat and melt.

Remedy Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the current cord with a new 120V convenience cord with a thermistor, free of charge. The recall began January 18, 2019. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 18S24.

Vehicles affected 49,197

Recall latches, locks, and linkages, doors, latch 2016-09-06 · NHTSA campaign 16V643000

Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2012-2015 Ford Focus, 2013-2015 Ford Escape and Ford C-MAX, 2015 Lincoln MKC and Ford Mustang, and 2014-2016 Ford Transit Connect vehicles. A component within the door latches may break, preventing the doors from latching and/or leading the driver or a passenger to believe a door is securely closed when, in fact, it is not.

Remedy Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the door latches with an improved part, free of charge. The recall began on January 27, 2017. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 16S30.

Vehicles affected 2,046,297

Recall Air bags 2014-09-26 · NHTSA campaign 14V597000

Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2013-2014 Ford C-Max vehicles manufactured January 19, 2012, to November 21, 2013; Ford Fusion vehicles manufactured February 3, 2012, to August 24, 2013; Ford Escape vehicles manufactured October 5, 2011, to November 1, 2013; and Lincoln MKZ vehicles manufactured April 25, 2012, to September 30, 2013. The coating on portions of the Restraint Control Module (RCM) may crack, and when exposed to humidity, circuits on the printed circuit board may short.

Remedy Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the RCM, free of charge. Parts are not currently available. The recall began on May 26,2015. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 14S21.

Vehicles affected 746,842

Recall air bags, frontal, inactive sensor control module 2014-05-07 · NHTSA campaign 14V237000

Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2013-2014 C-MAX, and Escape vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the restraint control module (RCM) may have errors in the programming software which may result in a delayed deployment of the side-curtain rollover air bag.

Remedy Ford will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the RCM, free of charge. The recall began on May 30, 2014. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-800-392-3673. Ford's number for this recall is 14S04.

Vehicles affected 594,785

Recall seats, front assembly, recliner 2014-04-02 · NHTSA campaign 14V164000

Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2013-2014 Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKZ vehicles manufactured August 15, 2012, through September 10, 2013, 2013-2014 Ford Escape vehicles manufactured June 5, 2012, through August 12, 2013, and 2013-2014 Ford C-Max vehicles manufactured from July 23, 2012, through May 28, 2013. The driver and passenger seatback assemblies may have been produced with sub-standard weld joints used to attach the seat back recliner mechanism to the seat frame. The affected seat backs may have insufficient strength to meet the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 207, "Seating Systems."

Remedy Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the seatback, free of charge. The recall began on May 30, 2014. Owners may contact Ford at 1-800-392-3673. Ford's number for this recall is 14C03.

Vehicles affected 43,135

Recall electrical system, ignition, anti-theft, control module 2013-10-17 · NHTSA campaign 13V475000

Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2012-2013 Focus Electric vehicles and 2013 C-Max vehicles equipped with the Intelligent Access Push Button Start System. In the affected vehicles, there is no audible chime when the vehicle is operational and the driver's door is opened. Thus, these vehicles fail to conform to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 114, "Theft Protection and Rollaway Prevention."

Remedy Ford will notify owners, and dealers will update the software for the door chime, free of charge. The recall began on October 30, 2013. Owners may contact the Ford customer relationship center at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's recall number is 13C07.

Vehicles affected 23,000

NHTSA's count is every vehicle in that campaign. A campaign can cover other model years and other models.

Complaints by component (187 total)

Electrical system

Steering

Powertrain

Engine

Structure, body

Service brakes

Speed control

Fuel and propulsion system

Air bags

Exterior lighting

Wheels

12V/24V/48V battery

Door

Equipment

Seat belts

Tires

Visibility and wipers

Camera

Carrier/rack

Electronic stability control (ESC)

Engine and engine cooling

Fuel system, gasoline

Latch

Latches, locks, and linkages

Seats

Structure

Suspension

Trunk lid

Warnings

Show 21 more Show less

Crash-flagged

Fire-flagged

Injury reports

Death reports

Of the 119 complaints that include an odometer reading, the median is 68,000 miles. The middle half fall between 39,000 and 97,000 miles.

Complaints filed per year

Excerpts from recent NHTSA complaint filings

"Summary of Safety Issue The vehicle repeatedly experiences sudden loss of propulsion while driving, accompanied by a “Stop Safely Now” warning message and various other dashboard warnings . During these events the…"
Powertrain, Speed control, Electrical system · filed 2026-04-07
"The rear impact bar is completely disintegrated and is falling off of the subframe due to extreme rust. There is either no or very little amount of rust on the entirety of the rest of the vehicle. The impact bar is…"
structure, body, Unknown or other · filed 2026-03-31
"Rear view camera display is upside down. Display was normal when the vehicle was purchased and then one day it flipped upside down and all overlay information disappeared (lines and distance indicators)."
Unknown or other · filed 2026-03-12
"I took it to the Ford dealership and they diagnosed it as having a parasitic draw from the 12 V battery when the car is shut down so when you go to get into the car if the battery is dead, they will fix it for $425…"
Service brakes, Electrical system, Engine · filed 2026-02-28
"The backup camera always quits working while in the middle of reversing. It will work for a second, but then the display will flip upside down or go completely black and display a message saying "Camera unavailable.…"
Unknown or other · filed 2025-10-29

NHTSA crash ratings

Version	Overall	Front	Side	Rollover
2013 Ford CMAX Energi 5 HB FWD	4 stars	4 stars	5 stars	4 stars
2013 Ford CMAX Hybrid 5 HB FWD	4 stars	4 stars	5 stars	4 stars

Stars are how this vehicle did in NHTSA crash tests. They are a safety result, separate from the complaint record. Not rated means that test was not run for this version.

Fuel economy

Trim	Engine	Transmission	Drive	City	Hwy	Combined	Annual fuel cost
C-MAX Energi Plug-in hybrid	2L, 4-cyl	Automatic (variable gear ratios)	Front-wheel drive	40	36	38 MPG / 550 mi range	$1700
C-MAX hybrid front-wheel drive	2L, 4-cyl	Automatic (variable gear ratios)	Front-wheel drive	42	37	40 MPG	$1600

Specs and fitment

US-market generation, 2013–2018

Body styles Hatchback, Wagon

Oil 5W-20 synthetic blend (2.0L Atkinson-cycle hybrid) , 4.5 qt capacity

Tire size 225/50R17

Known issues for this generation

Ford originally rated the 2013 C-Max Hybrid at 47 mpg city/highway/ combined, sharing the label of the related Fusion Hybrid rather than testing the C-Max separately; independent testing by Consumer Reports and others found real-world results well below that figure, at 37 mpg overall in Consumer Reports' own testing. EPA rules at the time permitted the shared label because the two cars use the same engine, transmission and electric drive and their weights fall within 35 pounds of each other, even though they share neither size, shape nor platform. Ford lowered the C-Max's own rating to 40 mpg combined for 2013 and made goodwill payments to about 200,000 owners and lessees. The dispute produced a consolidated federal class-action (In re Ford Fusion and C-MAX Fuel Economy Litigation, MDL No. 2450) and, in 2022, a $19.2 million settlement with a 40-state and D.C. consortium over the 2013-2014 C-Max's advertised fuel economy.

Compare

Next year 2014 Ford C-Max See every Ford C-Max model year →

Frequently asked questions

Is the 2013 Ford C-Max reliable?

What are common problems with a 2013 Ford C-Max?

Is the 2013 Ford C-Max more reliable than the years next to it?

The 2014 C-Max has 80 complaints, 4 per year. The 2013 has more complaints per year than the 2014.

Has the 2013 Ford C-Max been recalled?

The 2013 Ford C-Max has 8 recalls on file with NHTSA. See the recalls table on this page for dates, components, and remedies.

How many complaints have owners filed about the 2013 Ford C-Max?

Owners have filed 187 complaints about the 2013 Ford C-Max with NHTSA.

What mpg does a 2013 Ford C-Max get?

EPA-rated combined fuel economy for the 2013 Ford C-Max is 39 MPG. See the fuel economy table on this page for city and highway figures by engine and transmission.

What years was the Ford C-Max sold in the US?

The C-Max Hybrid and Energi were sold in the US for model years 2013 through 2018.

Did the Ford C-Max have a fuel economy lawsuit?

Yes; Ford's 47-mpg claim for the 2013 C-Max was lowered to 40 mpg after real-world testing, leading to goodwill payments and a 2022 multistate settlement.